Remarried After 5 Years... 50s Man Suspected of Affair with Vietnamese Wife, Killed Her with a Weapon, Sentenced to 15 Years in Appeal Trial

Daegu High Court.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] A man in his 50s who killed his Vietnamese wife with a weapon on suspicion of her infidelity was sentenced to 15 years in prison in the appellate court, maintaining the original sentence.

Mr. A appealed, claiming "the sentence is excessively harsh," but the court upheld the first trial's ruling, considering that he was not forgiven by the bereaved family.

The Daegu High Court Criminal Division 2 (Presiding Judge Yang Young-hee) announced on the 24th that it dismissed the appeal filed by Mr. A, who was tried on charges of murder, stating that "the sentence is excessive."

Mr. A was indicted for allegedly hitting his wife, Ms. B, in her 30s with his fist and stabbing her more than ten times with a weapon at their home on March 6 last year, resulting in her death. Mr. A surrendered himself after the crime.

According to the court, Mr. A stated that he committed the crime on the grounds that he suspected his wife of infidelity. Mr. A married Ms. B, a Vietnamese national, in 2014 but divorced a year later.

Ms. B left home saying she needed to earn money, and five years later, in 2020, they reconnected and remarried. Ms. B entered Korea on January 27 last year and lived with Mr. A.

However, their marital relationship deteriorated again within about a month. Mr. A claimed, "My wife did not answer her phone while visiting her nephew, and even after returning home, she secretly talked to someone else on the phone."

Later, while drinking with his wife Ms. B, Mr. A saw her answering a phone call outside and, suspecting the content of the call, got into an argument and committed the crime.

The first trial court stated, "The couple remarried hastily without fully restoring their feelings of love, and conflicts accumulated due to poor communication."

It added, "Mr. A was not forgiven by the bereaved family who lost a family member just over a month after arriving in Korea," and sentenced him to 15 years in prison.

The second trial court also dismissed Mr. A's appeal, stating, "The consequences of the crime are very serious."